Questions about trading into World Passport Collection

[Chadm]

My wife and I are thinking abut doing something special for our 5 year anniversary in May of 2005. The Disney Cruise is an option, as are some of the Concierge Collection hotels. However, what really interests me is the World Passport Collection. That seems to be the best value for an experience in a place we could not afford to go otherwise.

I guess my basic questions are:

What is the best way to go about making sure we can get into one of our choices at that time?

How far in advance should we start planning this?

How many different locations should we list to have a reasonable chance of getting into one of them?

I am very interested in Europe (specifically Italy or Scotland) and my wife seems to be more interested in the Caribbean or Hawaii. Either way, it will be a great experience, so I think we'll come to a consensus easily.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Dean]

Be realistic and give as many choices as you can. Something like 5-10 resorts over a several week period at least. If you want peak times, prepare to be disappointed. If you want to go more off season, your chances will improve. Plan at least a year out and preferably 2.

Also look for direct exchanges with other members at destinations you want to go. It's cheaper, you're more likely to get what you want and you will likely be able to plan in time to get good air fare.

 

[Chadm]

Thanks Dean. We have several choices, so giving 5-10 resorts is not a big problem. Also, we should be able to start searching right at the 2 year mark (around May of 2003). By biggest concern is getting reasonable airfare and scheduling my wife's vacation. For that to happen we'll need to know 4-6 months in advance exactly where and when we are going.

I've never pursued a direct exchange before. What are some good resources to start looking into that?

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by Chadm
Thanks Dean. We have several choices, so giving 5-10 resorts is not a big problem. Also, we should be able to start searching right at the 2 year mark (around May of 2003). By biggest concern is getting reasonable airfare and scheduling my wife's vacation. For that to happen we'll need to know 4-6 months in advance exactly where and when we are going.

I've never pursued a direct exchange before. What are some good resources to start looking into that?

Normally II will let you put a combination of 52 requests in. That could be one resort for 52 weeks, 52 resorts for one week or any combination. The resources I'd suggest you consider are Timeshare Users Group (TUG) for direct exchange listings. They have 2 lists, one is for those looking for specific items and listing what they would like in return. This might be something like "I have week 25 at X resort for 2003 and I would like DVC for summer 2003". The other list is just one that lists what people own and that they would entertain direct exchange options.

I'd also consider independent exchange companies. Dial an Exchange is a great one for Europe but I don't have any direct experience. San Francisco Exchange and Trading Places are good for CA, HI and MX as well as some for the Caribbean.

I really don't have much info for Europe so I'll ignore any recommendations there other than the Marriott's have rave reviews and the Marriott by DL Paris should be in full swing by then. There are several resorts for HI I'd recommend especially Marriott's, Westin, Hilton and Embassy's. Marriott's in Aruba would be nice. Consider the Royal Resorts in Cancun and Four Seasons in CA. Captiva and Sanibel Islands have a large following as does HH.

We went to Cancun for our 20th and had a blast. We stayed at one of the Royals, the lowest rated one and it was great. 2 Weeks in HI this summer on exchanges and a direct exchange that turned into a rental. I didn't do any of these with my DVC points but some would be worthy of doing so.

Good luck, I hope you find this helpful.